Three-Dimensional Printing Surgical Applications

INTRODUCTION Three-dimensional printing, a technology used for decades in the industrial field, gains a lot of attention in the medical field for its potential benefits. With advancement of desktop printers, this technology is accessible and a lot of research is going on in the medical field. OBJECTIVE To evaluate its application in surgical field, which may include but not limited to surgical planning, surgical education, implants, and prosthesis, which are the focus of this review. METHODS Research was conducted by searching PubMed, Web of science, and other reliable sources. We included original articles and excluded articles based on animals, those more than 10 years old, and those not in English. These articles were evaluated, and relevant studies were included in this review. DISCUSSION Three-dimensional printing shows a potential benefit in surgical application. Printed implants were used in patient in a few cases and show successful results; however, longer follow-up and more trials are needed. Surgical and medical education is believed to be more efficient with this technology than the current practice. Printed surgical instrument and surgical planning are also believed to improve with three-dimensional printing. CONCLUSION Three-dimensional printing can be a very powerful tool in the near future, which can aid the medical field that is facing a lot of challenges and obstacles. However, despite the reported results, further research on larger samples and analytical measurements should be conducted to ensure this technology's impact on the practice.